JR Blogs: Royal Rumble Surprises, NXT Changes, Heyman

On Royal Rumble surprises: “I’d be surprised if we did not see a few surprise entrants in the Rumble match come Sunday. I like it when the Rumble match has elements of nostalgia. I will also be anxious to see who has the ‘hot hand’ in the Rumble match as it relates to the total number of eliminations in the bout. Remember when Diesel aka @KevinNash lit it up one year much like Kane did in another Rumble match? This I do know, if any athlete phones in their Rumble match appearance they should be sent home….immediately. The opportunity to maximize one’s minutes at a major, WWE PPV event is one’s privilege and not one’s right. That’s akin to half assing it on the special teams in the Super Bowl. Those types of players don’t need a jersey only a ticket home.”

On NXT’s broadcasting change: “I don’t expect to return to broadcasting on NXT any time soon as that broadcast is designed to help the younger talents develop their body of work so I will be helping produce the newcomers. I enjoy teaching and coaching so I look forward with great anticipation those opportunities.”

On Paul Heyman: “Yes, I enjoyed my commentary work with @HeymanHustle aka Paul Heyman aka Paul E Dangerously aka Happy Heyman, etc , etc. He knew what buttons to push on me to legit piss me off and that generally raised my game on live TV. I too knew what buttons of his to push to motivate him. We had a combustible on air relationship that is lacking today or perhaps today’s marketplace just doesn’t require or call for our shenanigans. Some of my best work ever was done with Paul Heyman and I’ve worked with, arguably, the best partners ever.”

Other topics included William Regal’s first USA interview twenty years ago, calling the Royal Rumble match, good WCW moments, WrestleMania at Cowboys Stadium, and more.